Shutdown in Valley over death sentence to 2 Kashmiris

Undeclared curfew in downtown Srinagar; clashes at several places

Ahmed Ali Fayyaz

SRINAGAR, Apr 23: Kashmir valley today observed near-total shutdown to register its protest against a Delhi court’s pronouncement of the capital punishment on three convicts, including two Kashmiris, who have been held guilty of causing a bomb blast at a crowded market in Lajpat Nagar Market near 14 years ago. Thirteen persons had died and 38 others had sustained injuries in the car blast that happened on May 21 in 1996.

After holding six of the accused guilty and acquitting remaining four persons of all the charges on April 8th, District & Sessions Judge S P Garg had pronounced death sentence on two Kashmiris, namely Mirza Nisar Hussain of Shamswari and Mohammad Ali Bhat of Hassanabad, and Mohammad Naushad of Turkman Gate Delhi on April 22nd. Court had also convicted Javed Ahmed Khan of Naupora to rigorous life imprisonment. Court had further pronounced rigorous imprisonment of 4 years and fine of Rs 10,000 on the Kashmiri separatist leader, Fareeda Dar alias Freeda Behenji of Nattipora, and 7 years RI plus fine of Rs 10,000 on Farooq Ahmed of Anantnag but allowed them to walk free while deeming their period of detention during trial as the punishment served by them.

Stirring a hornet’s nest in the separatist camp in Valley, pronouncement of the judgment prompted heads of both factions of the Hurriyat Conference, namely Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, to call a shutdown in protest. Consequently, business establishments remained closed all over the Valley today and commercial transport did not operate. Reports available from all ten of the district headquarters in the Valley said that most of the government offices, educational institutions and banks remained locked for the day. Attendance was remarkably thin in the government offices that defied the Hurriyat call and remained open.

In the capital city of Srinagar, authorities enforced curfew without a formal declaration while imposing strict restrictions on the pedestrian as well as vehicular traffic in areas falling on either side of Nallah Maar Road, a stronghold of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq’s Awami Action Committee. Restrictions were particularly enforced in Shamswari and Hassanabad---residential localities of the two Shia Muslims (Mirza Nisar Hussain and Mohammad Ali Bhat) who were reportedly teenagers in 1996 and were branded by the prosecution as members of the outlawed Jammu & Kashmir Islamic Front (JKIF).

Officials described the situation under control and maintained that movement was regulated in certain downtown localities as a precautionary measure to safeguard law and order. They refused to call it curfew and claimed that most of the people stayed indoors for fear of mobs indulging in stone pelting on all kinds of vehicles in movement. They said that such clashes took place between thin groups of stone pelting youth and Police at five places in downtown Srinagar and Maisuma and three to four places in Sopore, Baramulla and Anantnag towns. They said that Police used tearsmoke and batons in retaliation. According to them “not more than 10 persons” sustained injuries in such clashes,

SSP Srinagar Javed Riyaz Bedar confirmed to media that one person, reportedly a government servant, had been admitted to SKIMS after sustaining a gunshot injury. While asserting that Police or paramilitary forces had not opened fire at any place in Kashmir valley today, SSP Srinagar said that Police were investigating as what exactly was the source of the gunshot injury sustained by the civilian. On the other hand, residents of Nowhatta area insisted that a 50-year-old civilian, identified as Manzoor Ahmded, had got hit when men of CRPF 158 Bn opened fire to disperse a crowd.

Due to the undeclared curfew, Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq was not allowed out of his home. People here call it house arrest. Reports said that a couple of other separatist leaders also remained under ‘house arrest’. Consequently, Friday prayers were not held at Jamia Masjid in Nowhatta area. However, head of rival faction of the Hurriyat, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, and JKLF Chairman Yasin Malik performed their Friday afternoon prayers at the local mosques in Hyderpora and Maisuma respectively. Geelani made a hard-hitting speech against PDP patriarch Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, National Conference and Congress leaders, calling them all “Delhi’s agents”.

Malik led a thin rally of his supporters in Maisuma towards Lalchowk. He was taken into custody alongwith five of his colleagues and detained at a local Police station for violation of prohibitory orders. Reports said that over 200 residents of Hassanabad locality staged a march towards Rainawari but they were forced to stop by Police and CRPF. Ding dong clashes were witnessed between the two sides for about an hour.

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